Ken Ayvazian

Whether he is creating desserts as the pastry chef at Central Steakhouse in New Haven or discussing his latest food find with Faith Middleton on Connecticut Public Radio's "The Food Schmooze," Ken Ayvazian is passionate about food.

His culinary education began early, although he wasn't exactly aware of it at the time, at his grandmothers' tables. One of their specialties  and the subject of some disagreement  is kourabias, which Ayvazian calls "the ultimate butter cookie."

As he tells the story, "the Armenian grandmothers usually got along very well until the subject of this particular cookie came up one night during a family dinner. Tempers flared a little more than slightly as the debate on whether to use superfine sugar or confectioners' sugar raged. I wish I had been much more interested in food and cooking back then -- the stuff I could have learned!"

Ayvazian compares these cookies to shortbread. "They last for weeks in a covered container and seem to get better with age," he says. The recipe is different from many butter cookie recipes because it calls for clarified butter that gives the dough "an unusually 'short' or breakable texture."

If Ayvazian had glued himself to grandmothers as they made the cookies, he would have saved himself some time and experimentation as an adult. "The key to finally getting this right came from an old church cookbook that mentions, almost in an offhand way, to place the unbaked cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet," he says. "I had been baking them on parchment paper, as is my habit, until I realized that to get the correct rounded shape of the baked cookies, the bottoms of the cookies had to "grab" the pan rather than be allowed to flow out on a non-stick surface."

In an electric mixer, beat the cooled butter and 1-1/2 cups of the confectioners' sugar on medium speed until fluffy and very light in color.

Add the egg yolks and the flavoring, and continue beating to combine well.

Turning the speed on the mixer to its lowest setting, add the flour gradually until it is incorporated. Remove bowl from mixer and, using a large rubber spatula, scrape the bowl well and mix by hand to be sure that the dough is well blended. This dough should be very soft, "short," and supple.

Making sure your hands are clean and grease-free, pinch off golf-ball sized pieces of the dough and gently roll them into round balls. Place each ball on an ungreased cookie sheet, about 1-1/2 inches apart. Gently press an almond into the top of each one.

Bake the cookies in a preheated 325-degree oven for about 12 to 15 minutes or until the edges just begin to brown and, as my father's mother used to say, "until the almonds become pink."

As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, dust each one generously with the remaining confectioners' sugar. Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Note: To clarify butter, melt butter in a saucepan. Skim off the foam that rises to the top, then carefully pour off the clear butter, leaving behind the milk solids that have settled in the bottom of the pan.